Fortified by formal U.S. recognition as Libya’s legitimate
government, fighters loyal to the rebel Benghazi-based
Transitional National Council (TNC) made a key advance Monday
by reportedly gaining control of most of the eastern oil port
of Brega.

But whether that achievement, combined with the diplomatic gains made
by the TNC in recent days, will be enough to decisively break the
protracted deadlock in the civil war, now entering its sixth month,
remains doubtful, according to both officials and independent
analysts.

Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gadhafi, who has been personally rallying
forces loyal to him in cities in and around Tripoli, appears
well-entrenched in the capital, even as rebel forces in the east and
west seem to be advancing for the moment.

“We think the overall tide of events has clearly shifted toward the
rebels,” one administration official told IPS. “But that doesn’t mean
this isn’t going to take a good while longer.”

Monday’s advance on Brega came three days after the administration of
U.S. President Barack Obama joined 27 other governments in offering
official recognition of the TNC as “the legitimate governing
authority for Libya.”

Speaking at the meeting of the Libya Contact Group in Istanbul,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington had received
sufficient assurances from the TNC regarding its “intention to pursue
democratic reform that is inclusive geographically and politically,
and to uphold Libya’s international obligations and to disburse funds
in a transparent manner, to address the humanitarian and other needs
of the Libyan people” to justify recognition.

“We will help the TNC sustain its commitment to the sovereignty,
independence, territorial integrity, and national unity of Libya, and
we look to it to remain steadfast in its commitment to human rights
and fundamental freedoms,” she added.

In addition to its psychological and diplomatic impact, Washington’s
decision to recognize the TNC paves the way for the transfer of some
of the roughly $32 billion in Libyan assets that the
administration froze at the end of February to protest Gadhafi’s
violent crackdown on protests around the country.

In a background briefing after Friday’s announcement, senior U.S.
officials stressed that any funds released by the U.S. would have to
be used by the TNC for humanitarian aid and basic public services,
rather than weapons or other forms of military assistance to enhance
its fighting capabilities against Gadhafi’s forces.

The briefers also stressed that funds are unlikely to be released
very soon. “We still have to work through various legal issues, but
we expect this step on recognition will enable the TNC to access
additional sources of funding,” Clinton said in her announcement.

The latest developments come amid growing pressure by some of
Washington’s NATO allies, notably France and Britain, on the
administration to provide more support for the NATO military campaign
in Libya.

The Financial Times reported Monday that Britain’s defense secretary,
Liam Fox, had asked Washington’s new Pentagon chief, Leon Panetta,
for more help but failed to get a commitment.

Since the early days of the campaign when the U.S. took the lead in
bombing key targets, particularly Libya’s air force and air-defense
systems, Washington has played a more limited role.

Most of its operations have been confined to logistical support,
aerial surveillance and refueling, and providing targeting
information, although U.S. warplanes and Predator drones have also
been used occasionally to strike specific targets.

Washington’s self-imposed restraints have frustrated France and
Britain, as well as several other NATO allies that are taking part in
the campaign, which have found that their own much more modest
capabilities and military equipment are being stretched to the limit.

Arguing that Washington is already bearing almost all of the burden
of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that Europe has far more
at stake in North Africa than the U.S., the Obama administration also
faces domestic pressure to limit its Libya intervention.

Pluralities and majorities of American respondents in numerous polls taken
since March have said that Washington should “not be involved”
in military operations in Libya.

That discontent has been compounded by the administration’s
insistence that its operations fall short of the level of
“hostilities” that, under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, would
require the president to gain congressional authorization to continue
them after 60 days.

That position stirred a bipartisan revolt in Congress.

Late last month, the House of Representatives rejected a resolution,
based on a Senate counterpart co-sponsored by Republican Sen. John
McCain and Democratic Sen. John Kerry, that would have authorized U.S.
participation in the NATO operation for up to one year.

Several days later, Kerry’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee
approved the resolution by a 14-5 margin, but the full Senate, which
appeared poised to pass it earlier this month, is now unlikely to act
on it until September.

Earlier this month, the House approved an amendment to a Pentagon
appropriations bill that barred funding for arming, equipping,
training, or advising any military force in Libya.

Indeed, while TNC leaders — mostly Western-educated businessmen,
professionals, academics, and diplomats — who have come to Washington
have made a favorable impression on their interlocutors, there
remains significant concern about the composition, unity, and
intentions of the diffuse and mostly ragtag forces nominally under
their command.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported last week that rebels in the
western mountains had looted and damaged four towns they had taken
from Gadhafi’s forces last month in apparent reprisal actions.

At the same time, The New York Times reported that some of the
20,000 man-portable air-defense missiles (MANPADS) that Gadhafi is
believed to have accumulated in recent years were looted from
government bunkers in the western mountains and eastern Libya and
could not be accounted for.

“MANPADS have long been one of the most worrisome forms of
conventional ordnance from a counterterrorist point of view, because
of the potential to use them against civilian aircraft,” noted Paul
Pillar, a former top regional analyst at the Central Intelligence
Agency, who blogs at The National Interest Web site. “It looks like
terrorists with thoughts of shooting down airliners have a new source
of supply.”

20120361088 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Foriginal.antiwar.com%2Flobe%2F2011%2F07%2F19%2Fno-early-end-to-libya-war-expected%2FNo+Early+End+to+Libya+War+Expected2011-07-20+06%3A00%3A46Jim+Lobehttp%3A%2F%2Foriginal.antiwar.com%2F%3Fp%3D2012036108 to “No Early End to Libya War Expected”

When you have a economic problem.., as US having such massive debt .., one need to think how can it be paid in full within 10-15 years so the debt is paid off. Saving from the “US mighty army”- military is one of the source where by slashing its budget (pentagon) would save money for the American people.., ultimately is the people who pays for all that debt.., However, US economy system is based on capitalism.., here such system lives on interests and by government and its people being up to their neck in debt the capitalism is a happy system.., being helped by the government makes the system happier, laughing at government slapping its face later by promising it would vote (AIPAC) for the system.

If you cut the source of capitalism income then the system would collapse.., in the other hand Barack Hussein Obama wants to rise the US debt into to higher scale of what it is today.., which means a higher interests and higher debt for each and every man and women living in USA. If a government is the peoples government then the idea in making sure that people are debt free would be the government priority by slashing the pentagon budget into half.., but by not being the peoples government then you do what capitalism commands you to do.., which means that pentagon – militarism regime demands you to do followed by other agencies and etc. so what is left.., continue wars and wars in Africa and other part of this world by barrowing money from China and IMF making more of your people poor and keep on promising the lies as before hoping for something good comes out of all this madness.

With the examples of Iraq and Afghanistan before him Obama nevertheless decided to get the US involved in yet another war in another Muslim country. The results of Bush's wars have not turn out as planned and certainly not in ways favorable to the US. Obama should have been wise enough to recognize that the out come in Libya would also be impossible to predict. And thus it has been, the war is taking much longer than anticipated and the political arrangements which will follow are unknowable. Involvement in Libya was a stupid, stupid, entirely avoidable error.

On the plus side, it is, of course, highly amusing to watch the Democrats defend Obama from exaclty the same charges they leveled against Bush for the disasters he created in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is interesting to listen to the prostitutes running for president and our resident prostitutes in congress pushing for the USA to bomb Iran. It has been about 20 years since there people gave up the small pride they might have had and started doing tricks for AIPAC. I am sure they are a little concerned watching Rupport Murdock the lead zionist implode but our elected official and professional political people do not care because they know as long as the money flows to Israel they will get their share.
I disaster the Libya represent should get a normal person to pause in pushing for more military action for payments for the bribes that they accept but we are not talking about normal people. We are talking about our elected officials who long ago gave up any moral standard the might have had. They joined a political system that requires one to be in campaign mode 24 x 7 for as long as the person wants to be part of the good life. Tens of thousands of our kids are crippled just from the Fiasco in Iraq which was the result of their efforts to please and continue the AIPAC checks.

Its not just amusing, its pathetic the way these 2 parties of a**holes pretend to be for or against this military action, given who is executing it. The worst human beings in the world have to be American politicians. Who cares what they say, and why aren't more of them being removed // prosecuted // executed?

Barack Hussein Obama and Hillary Clinton doing the favoritism of their politics for Saudis and Arab Emirates whom are the breather of terrorism groups within the Muslims Brotherhood.., they did the same thing in Afghanistan where the entire matter were orchestrated by AIPAC and blast by Bush neo fascism administration.., Obama doing the same thing by wanting to rise the US debt ceiling where he could spend that money in planed and orchestrated wars in Africa.., Saudis and Arab Emirates are part of that groups who would lend part o that money to US for its war crime.., Libya war is not about democracy nor there is any democratic movements coming out of Saudi and Emirates kingdome tyrants.., nor there is anything indicating that Muslim Brotherhood is a democratic organization.., so what is left for Obama doctrine is once again fooling American people and taking them as hostage wanting to rise the debt ceiling.., he even willing to give up the peoples social security for his agendas for Africa. Look people.., Barack Hussein Obama been called all and everything that his not.., he doesn’t know what he is doing any longer.., he just throwing matter up in the air “hop“ – ing something good comes out of it.., so goes for Nancy Pelosi, Biden, Barbara Boxer, Feinstein and rest of his gangs of “Liberals” whom are more active for Israel then they are for American people.

Secondly: US and NATO have lost everything that they gambled in Middle East and Central Asia.., Iraq and Afghanistan.., for US war machinery to have something to do Obama and Hillary Clinton needed to open a new front gambling again.., that front is Africa.

Third: every US president needs to have a war under its name.., now you democrats out there need to be thankful for what your “hero” is doing having a war under his name.

Fourth: US is a capitalism system, capitalism is against all other kind of democracy even the one in Libya.., if is in Africa they need to have a war for it.., if is in Middle East and Etc. here.., the system is doing it to save its own ass not to implement democracy because there is no democracy coming out of US democratic party.., is a party bought by Chase bank, Gold man Sachs and managed by Israelis management firm AIPAC and Rockefeller.